Utah Summer 2013

The second night at Lake Powell we did a murder mystery I was Alice (in Wonderland,) Mom Richens dressed Quincy up as the White Rabbit who is always late to match me, and Scott was Aladin

Lovin' Powell

Spying on Q actually playing happy without us around. Apparently she cried for 20 minutes the first time without us. The next time 5 and the 3rd time she didn't really cry at all. 

Grams, Ken(Papa,) Julie (Nana,) Gramps, Quincy, Jenny, Scott all cooling off in the lake together. 

The ski right after I sprained my finger

My Charleston Peach. 

The cathedral in Powell? It was really pretty.

Modeling...

Meeting the cousins. Q and Vickie were pushed everywhere in those boxes. Quincy loved it.

Modeling Motorcycles...on Gramps' Bike. :)

Great Grandpa Baird was lucky enough to have Quincy happy while he held her. 

On a hike to Timpanogos Cave with the extended Allen clan. This picture started as just Scott, Q, and I and but turned out to be more fun with most of the nieces and nephews. They like us. 

In the cave

Finally a family photo

All 14 of my parents grand kids in Natalie and Nic's backyard

The three of us flew to Utah together and got in 10 Pm and the next morning drove to Powell. Quincy traveled beautifully- however it was tricky not letting her get adjusted to a different time zone before everyone was stuck on a house boat with us. After a week in at the lake we stayed at Mom and Dad Allen's for most of the next week, then Scott headed back to work in Charleston while Q and I got to stay another few days. between Lake Powell and the back and forth we got to be with both the Richens' and the Allen's about even. We got to:

• Go to Averie's baptism,
• Have FHE and Allen BBQ
• Hike Timp Cavewith Allens
• Visit everyone's homes
• Help throw a bridal shower for 2 cousins at my moms
• go to the splash pad with cousins (any good pics dad?) -which Quincy warmed up to and then got too brave getting splashed right in her face, which made her scared again
• Visit both Richens' and Allen's church wards to show off Quincy
• Meet Aunt Sue at Grams Sunday dinner
• Sunday dinner at the Roach's the next week and take cousin pictures
• Play Rook the Baird way and the Richens way. I won the highest game average at Powell! However I only played 5 games compared to Grams' 35 games. I would have played a few more games but I had Q. And thankfully grandma and grandpa Baird aren't too mad at us.
• Skied our little hearts out (or arms out) Thanks to mom arms I am much stronger then I used to be
• Meet 2 new babies, Kade and Adelle.
• Clean out Scott's old bedroom-meaning pick trophy's and medal Julie CANNOT trash when she actually does the cleaning out.
• Practice walking (Quincy)
• Have a 2 week early 1st birthday party for Q with the Richens
• Play play play. Quicny LOVED all the kids. when everyone went home she was worn out!

We were all worn out after the week but it was sure fun. We felt so much love from everyone. Family is great it was fun to play, sad to leave, and happy to be back home. We do like our lives in Charleston. The flight home was a little more rough for Q since she only had me and not Scott also, it was during the day, and on the long flight we didn't have extra space. She loved to watch everything going on which made it hard to fall asleep and she got kinda ornery until I succeed in getting her to sleep. 

Once we were back home and Q realized she was home and in her own space she took off walking 100%.

Blessed

My life is so blessed. I am have such a fun life. An adorable little girl that although makes me stir crazy makes me so so happy and keeps life fun. I have a great hardworking husband aka the most handsomest husband of the world. Wonderful families who love us. We get to go to Utah in a few day and boy are we ready! I am so excited! I am grateful for the young women who love me and Quincy, who keep me thinking, problem solving,  driving around and busy. We are grateful for work and projects and all. Thanks to my Father in Heaven for everything. I am excited to be able to go to the temple a couple of times in the next few weeks without it being a 9 hour day and having great babysitters for Q, and I am grateful to be able to be apart of the temple blessings. I am so happy and happy I can smile throughout everyday.

Little Gooober

July 24, 2013

Dear Quincy,

You are the funniest little goober, pill, princess...baby girl ever. Life is so fun with you around, we get to laugh from one Quincy moment to another. Yesterday you were sitting with daddy on the couch, he set you on your feet on the floor expecting you to turn to him or sit down or something, but no. You put your hands in the air and walked aver 80 inches! (My sewing measuring tape was out so we measured.)  It totally caught us off guard. Go baby go! you keep getting more and more daring. At church you kept walking & walk-falling the few steps between me and daddy on the pew. After you squealed with delight multiple times daddy took you to the foyer. Since Sunday it seems that every time you are standing  you want to throw your arms up and try to walk, or you try balancing. You get so pleased with yourself, like you know you are working hard at learning a new trick. Mommy is proud or you. Grandma Jill told me it seem you are a very determined girl and it is true. When you put your mind to something you are going to do it! (If you are unable to accomplish what you want-like opening a bathroom cabinet that has been rubber banded shut you get very upset.)

A couple of things:

When daddy is putting on his socks and shoes before work there is no place you would rather be then on his lap or sitting between his legs.
You love to put blankets, shirts or whatever on your head and then you keep on playing with them there.
When my phone rings or someone knocks on the door you get startled in a funny way. You look at me and crawl to me just as fast as you can.
Yesterday you decided to eat straight off the ground no hand to mouth or anything just face down on the carpet trying to pick up a pea lost at lunch. Each time you got it in you mouth you let fall back out though. Silly Q. I dropped some cheerios on the ground and you continued your game, but you paused each time I tried to capture a video of you.

Awe. Sunday morning. 

Q found my box of stuff for Utah and decided to play dress up. 

helping mommy sew

I love you to pieces! 

Love, 

Mommy

PS your smile melts my heart

The Week of July Forth

It rained Saturday June 29-Wednesday with only some let up.  I desperately needed to grocery shop but didn't dare try to juggle Quincy and groceries in the down pours.

We also had a coconut party

Scott, Quincy, and I had a fun, relaxing weekend with Scott off work Thursday and Friday for the holiday. Thursday morning, July forth, the YM/YW were in charge of a ward party-we did a pancake breakfast. It turned out pretty well considering how much I didn't want to be in charge of a party and how more than half the presidencies were going to be out of town and only mediocre communication in planning the party. We were only stopped by a little rain which made for a very nice instantly fast and willing clean up crew. 

Later on the evening of the 4th we headed downtown to watch fireworks. We left at Q's bedtime so she easily fell asleep in the car. On our way we stopped at Piggly Wiggly and bought a 1/2 gallon of ice cream and got some forks from the deli counter. After parking near Battery Park we walked to Waterfront park to join the masses.  Water front park is on the opposite side of the bay from the Yorktown, an aircraft carrier, on which the  fireworks were shot off of. The view was great, the bay full of baots, aircraft carrier, the Arthur Ravenel Bridge. Beautiful weather and no rain. We enjoyed our ice cream and moved a few times to get away from people smoking. ugh. Fireworks were just okay, Quincy liked watching people more (she woke up on our walk.) May not do it again, but I would recommend going to waterfront park at dusk. Here we are waiting for fireworks.

The next evening we crossed something off our Charleston bucket list. We walked the bridge! Again it worked out to go at dusk and it was beautiful. The Arthur Ravenel Bridge connects the Charleston peninsula to the  Mt. Pleasant peninsula. The bridge goes over the Copper river which dumps into the Atlantic and is a little more than 2 miles one way. Again I would recommend, it was a very fun, beautiful, free activity/walk. Pictures:

The next morning we went to the church where to girls (new YW!) were baptized. Sakia and Sharida, sisters will be great to have as part of my group. including these girls there have been 7 new YW in our ward in the last month! Crazy! Hard to stay on top of but exciting. It must be summertime-the time to move.

In between all the comings and goings Scott and I have been reading The Serpent's Shadow  together, the last book in a Rick Riordan series we listened to on our DC trip.

Bananas and Q don't get along

June 24, the test: Before eating a banana for breakfast

 Later that afternoon. :(

and a few other pics throughout the day

  she escaped...and got up! surprise to me.

up and down, up and down.

Later in the week:

Quincy had been resisting her afternoon nap during the last week of June. I found her playing in her crib a couple of days before falling asleep. After a couple days of this. Q wouldn't go down at all but this happened or almost happened 3 or 4 days. 

I think we mostly have adapted to a 1 nap a day policy now. 

Q's play pen

trying to fit into the impossible

organizing...

The Heat Win...

(Yes, this has to be included on the blog because it is such a big part of our (Scott's) lives.)

Scott continually expressed doubt in his team, so he hardly  deserved to celebrate at the end of the NBA season, but alas, LeBron pulled it out for him. There was happiness and joy in this house at bedtime June 20, 2013

In the Navy.

When Scott was interested in the navy position we liked it because he was not deploy-able. I said I wouldn't have let him join if he would be deployed. He was excited about being in the military and the job description sounded great. Well 2 years later (1 at BYU and 1 in SC) we are still happy with the decision. Scott loves being an officer, teaching here at the nuke school, and doing everything he can to be a top guy. Scott has liked the idea of spending 20 years in the Navy. I haven't been so keen on that. Now y'all back home aren't going to like this but lately I have been getting this feeling that we will be spending more time in the navy then just this duty here at Charleston. and I have been feeling more like I might be able to manage if Scott were to be deployed (as long as it was safe, not more then a few months,and only once or twice. :)) I didn't think I would ever say that but there it is on paper. We still have 3 more years here so a lot could change but that's the latest.